I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to techniques for processing a signal at a receiver in a wireless communication system.
II. Background
In a wireless communication system, a transmitter modulates data onto a radio frequency (RF) carrier signal and generates an RF modulated signal that is more suitable for transmission. The transmitter then transmits the RF modulated signal via a wireless channel to a receiver. The receiver receives the transmitted signal, filters and amplifies the received signal, frequency downconverts the amplified signal from RF to baseband, and digitizes the baseband signal to obtain samples. The receiver then processes the samples to recover the data sent by the transmitter.
A receiver typically generates various undesired signals, which are often called spurs. For example, the spurs may be harmonics of a reference oscillator for the receiver, harmonics of a sampling clock used to digitize the baseband signal, harmonics of clocks used for digital circuits at the receiver, mixing products of RF components, and so on. Some of the spurs may fall within the bandwidth of the desired signal. These in-band spurs act as noise that hinders the receiver's ability to properly demodulate the received signal and hence desenses the receiver. In fact, it is not uncommon for a receiver to have one or more “bad” frequency channels in which the receiver exhibits poor sensitivity due to spurs. The poor sensitivity may result in poor performance, reduced communication coverage, and possibly other deleterious effects, all of which are undesirable.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to mitigate the deleterious effects of spurs in a receiver.